“Hey Mandy, do you want to get your fortune told?” asked Ray as he and Mandy walked casually through the fun fair.
Every year the fun fair was held in Southall Park during the school’s half term.
“Really? Where?” asked Mandy curiously as she looked around the fun fair.
The young man pointed to a sign standing in front of a tent. “Over there. The sign says “Get your fortune told by Madame Zora”.
“I don’t know, Ray. I really don’t think we should. I remember Pastor Benjamin preaching against fortune-telling and witchcraft in church. That fortune-teller probably gets all her information from the devil,” the young woman replied. “Not only that, Ray, we’re supposed to be followers of Christ and we should be concentrating on making sure our future is secure with Christ in heaven. We should not be worrying about getting rich quickly or trying to find out our future from a medium or a witch. Don’t you realize that when we look to other spiritual forces other than God for the answer to our life, we are committing a great sin against God?”
“Come on, Mandy,” Ray gently pulled her arm. “It’s not real. Let’s go in just for the fun of it. Most of it is just illusion, a lot of smoke, and foolish talk. It’s harmless.”
Mandy sighed reluctantly. “All right. Let’s go in, but if it starts to get really creepy inside there I want us to leave, Ray.”
“Sure. No problem. Let’s go!”
Ray and Mandy entered the tent where they met a gypsy woman sitting at a table with a large crystal ball in the center. Her long dark hair was tied beneath a large colorful scarf and she wore gold bracelets. She wore a black ruffled blouse and a long pleated skirt. She hummed softly and narrowed her eyes until they appeared to be closed. Her hands hovered over the crystal ball and she rocked slowly back and forth.
“This is really creepy, Ray,” Mandy hissed in his ear as she grabbed hold of his arm and pressed her body against him.
Ray put his arm around her and assured her that it was going to be okay.
Madame Zora beckoned the couple to enter. “Come children. Come and get your fortune told by the great Madame Zora.”
“Hi. How much does it cost to get our fortune told? Five bucks?” asked Ray.
“Five dollars will get you through the door. Another five and I can tell you more,” the woman replied.
“Hey, you’re rhyming. That’s pretty cool.” Ray took out his wallet and handed the gypsy woman two five-dollar notes. “Here’s ten bucks.”
“Come this way, children. Have a seat. I can assure you, that you’re in for a treat. Now, look into my crystal ball. It has the power to tell you all.”
A dim light suddenly appeared in the crystal ball and grew brighter. The light in the room faded and purple smoke filled the tent, seeming to come up through the floor.
Mandy nudged her friend and whispered, “Ray, I don’t like this at all. Can we please get out of here?”
“Sshh! Quiet Mandy. I’m trying to concentrate,” he said impatiently.
Madame Zora looked directly at Ray and asked, “Tell me, boy, what you want to know? How much money you’ll make? How tall will you grow?”
Ray rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Okay, here’s what I want to know. How long will I live?”
The fortune-teller stared into her crystal ball and replied, “A very good question that some avoid out of fear. But what I tell you shall remain clear. People come and people go. I can promise you that you will grow old. Life is very precious and you will have a lot of time. The spirits say that you will live to the ripe old age of a hundred and nine.”
“Wow!” Ray exclaimed. “Did you hear that, Mandy? I’m going to live to be a hundred and nine years old!”
“That’s great, Ray,” said Mandy. “But I’ve had enough. Can we go now, please?”
“Just wait a while, Mandy. I want to ask another question,” he said as he untangled his arm from hers.
“Ray, I want to go now,” the young woman hissed through clenched teeth. “This is wrong. It goes against what the Bible says and I want to go now!”
The young man sighed reluctantly. “All right. Just wait for me outside. I’m just going to ask one more question and then we can go.”
“Okay. I’ll wait for you outside,” the girl agreed and rushed out of the dimly lit spooky tent into the clean fresh air.
“Madame Zora,” Ray continued, “I want to ask you one more question.”
The gypsy woman looked deep into his eyes and said in a chilly voice, “I told you this once before. Another five and I can tell you more.”
Ray took some more money out of his pocket. “Here’s another five bucks. Tell me, Madame Zora, you possess a lot of power to tell the future. I want to know where you get that power from and how can I get it for myself?”
Madame Zora stared long and hard at the boy before she replied. “You surprise me, boy, by what you ask. You must understand that what you seek is a great task. To gain this power you must sacrifice. I promise you it will change your life. Some show great fear and others don’t seem to care. But if this is what you want then follow me, if you dare.”
The young man looked puzzled. “Sacrifice? What do I have to sacrifice?”
“The power to see all, to know all, and to tell all you will have, ‘tis true. But you must first sacrifice what lies within you,” she replied.
Ray still did not understand what she meant. “What are you talking about? What is it that lies within me that you want me to sacrifice? I want power, I want to be able to see into the future. I also want to be rich. I want everything you have to offer. But what do I have to do to get it?”
Madame Zora stood up and stared intently into the young man’s eyes. “Power and wealth, all I give to you. But there is one thing you must do. You can have all and much more, but they come with a price. I tell you truly, your SOUL you must sacrifice!”
“What! Do I really have to sacrifice my soul? No, I can’t do that. This was a mistake. I have to get out of here!” Ray exclaimed as he jumped up to leave, but she grabbed him by his shirt collar and lifted him up off the ground.
Her voice suddenly changed to something deeper and more sinister. “You are so close, boy. I can give you everything you desire! I am Zora, goddess of evil! Worship me, boy! Give me your soul and I will give you power!” Inside the tent, the ground began to shake and Ray thought he felt heat rising up from the ground.
Her eyes glowed red and Ray was very much afraid. “Goddess of evil? Hey, let me go! Oh, Jesus please help me!”
Madame Zora began screaming and hissing as her grip loosened. “No! Don’t say that name! Don’t say that name! I hate that name! I want your soul! Bow to me!”
“No! Let me go! Help me, Jesus! Please save me!” he prayed.
The gypsy woman let out an ear-splitting scream and finally let go of the boy. He fell to the ground and crawled away from the woman as she dissolved into a yellowish puff of smoke smelling of sulfur.
Mandy ran inside to find out what was going on. “Ray! Where are you? What’s going on?” The tent was darkened by the smoke that Mandy could not see anything.
“I’m here, Mandy,” he said as he grabbed her hand. “Come on. We have to get out of here! This place is falling apart!”
The couple rushed out of the tent as it collapsed and was sucked into the ground. They both breathed a heavy sigh of relief that they did not go down with it.
Ray glanced at Mandy guiltily and said, “Hey, I’m really sorry I got you into this. I put you in danger and we could have both lost our lives in there. I don’t really know what came over me. At first, I thought it was just a game. I didn’t think it was real, but then when I started asking the fortune-teller all those questions and she gave me all the answers, I got really excited. I thought that if I had the kind of power she had then I could find a way to be rich and live a long life.
“But then she told me that I would have to sacrifice my soul and then her voice changed as if it wasn’t her that was talking anymore, but a demon talking through her. That was when I realized that I was making a big mistake and that I had to get out of there.
“You were right, Mandy. It was a sin to find out the future from a fortune-teller. I know now that I must focus on living a life that is pleasing to God and stop worrying about storing up treasures on earth.”
“I’m glad you understand that now, Ray,” said Mandy. “Always remember that we must seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and everything else will be given to us.”
She brushed the dust off her clothes. She held out her hand and Ray took it. “Come on, Ray, let’s go home.”
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things, which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:1-2, NIV).
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